Image: 12 1/8 x 13 3/8 in. (30.8 x 34 cm)
Overall with mounting: 14 in. x 37 ft. 5 1/8 in. (35.4 cm x 11.4 m)
Classification:
Paintings
Credit Line:
Purchase, The Dillon Fund Gift, 1977
Accession Number:
1977.78
Not on view
A leading horse painter of the Tang dynasty, Han Gan was known for capturing not only the likeness of a horse but also its spirit. This painting, the most famous work attributed to the artist, is a portrait of a charger of Emperor Xuanzong (r. 712–56). With its burning eye, flaring nostrils, and dancing hoofs, the fiery-tempered horse epitomizes Chinese myths about Central Asian "celestial steeds" that "sweated blood" and were actually dragons in disguise. The seals and inscriptions added to the painting and its borders by later owners and appreciators are a distinctive feature of Chinese collecting and connoisseurship. The addition of more than one thousand years of seals and comments offers a vivid testimony of the work's transmission and its impact on later generations. The acquisition of this image, arguably the greatest equine portrait in Chinese painting, marked the Director's early commitment to revitalizing the Department of Asian Art under the curatorial leadership of Wen Fong and with the dedicated support of trustee Douglas Dillon.
Jin Cheng 金城 (1878–1926) Gongbo pingsheng zhenshang 鞏伯平生真賞 Wuxing Jin Cheng jianding Song Yuan zhenji zhi yin 吳興金城鑑定宋元真蹟之印 Gongbei 拱北
Li Xuanti 李宣倜 (1888?–1961) Xuanti shending 宣倜審定 Li Shikan jianshang zhang 李釋戡鑑賞章 Ti 倜 Li Shikan 李釋堪 Li Xuanti yin 李宣倜印 Shikan ceng guan 釋龕曾觀 Shikan xinshang 釋戡心賞 Li Xuanti Shikan fu 李宣倜釋戡父 Wubian hua’an (twice) 無邊華盦San shi 散釋 Ajia Jushi 阿迦居士
Jin Kaifan 金開藩 (1895–1946) Jin Yinhu cang 金蔭湖藏 Jin Kaifan zhencang shuhua zhi yin 金開藩珍藏書畫之印
Unidentified seals Tang shi tushu (?) 湯氏圖書 (?) Henan Wen shi zhi bao 河南文氏之寳 Zhimei 芝眉 ? ? jianding (twice) 囗囗鑑定
Illegible: 2 (black)
[1] The 30th-generation "Celestial Master" of the Zhengyi sect of Daoism was named Zhang Jixian (1092–1126) with the same Chinese characters. But he may not be the writer of this colophon because it appears after the one by Jie Hong (1304-1373) and, therefore, should post-date it. [2] On Gui Xizhi’s identity, see Wu Guohao, “Wan Ming wenren de shufa shenghuo” (Ph.D. dissertation, Zhongguo Wenhua Daxue, Taipei, 2008), p. 265.
Sir Percival David , London (early 1930s–d.1964) ; his widow Lady David , later Mrs. Sheila Riddell, London (1964–1977; sold to MMA)
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Artist: Qian Xuan (Chinese, ca. 1235–before 1307)Date: ca. 1295Medium: Handscroll; ink, color, and gold on paperAccession: 1973.120.6On view in:Not on view
#7312. Night-Shining White
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